Sparkling Science
Van Cleef & Arpels’ latestlates exhibition takes you on a breathtaking journey of je jewellery’s scientific start to its artistic sparkling finish,finish discovers Karmun Ng
Agem-encrusted clip of a majestic bird in flight awaits guests at the Artscience Museum at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Only it is not just a clip—it can transform into a pair of earrings by its wings and the 96.62-carat briolette-cut yellow diamond it holds in its beak can be detached and worn as a standalone pendant. Welcome to Van Cleef & Arpels’ ‘The Art & Science of Gems’ exhibition, ongoing from now until August 14. This clip is the star-piece in the first of its nine galleries, opening the show for over 400 pieces of jewellery selected from the Van Cleef & Arpels Collection, along with other 200 rare gems and minerals from the renowned collection of the French National Museum of Natural History. “What distinguishes Van Cleef & Arpels is that we have always been driven by innovation,” tells Catherine Cariou, heritage director of the brand. “We are a very feminine andd poetic maison. We combine innovation with a lot of poetry.” This exact innovation is put front and centre at this exhibition, showcasing the most resplendent pieces from the maison’s history and exemplified further by how the exhibition has been planned. The journey spreads across seven themes, with two additional galleries for education and cinema, where you’re allowed sneak peeks into never-before-seen works of Van Cleef & Arpels’ jewellers, stone-setters, lapidaries, designers and more. According to Cariou, the seven themes—masterpiece, Couture, Abstractions, Influences, Precious Objects, Nature, as well as Ballerinas & Fairies, Icons—are chosen because they “represent Van Cleef & Arpels’ DNA and our strength as a jewellery house.” Right after Masterpieces where the bird clip stars, the Couture gallery is a tribute to the Van Cleef & Arpels’ city of birth, Paris, also known as the City of Couture. It is the reason why the vocabulary of couture has always been inherent in the maison’s stunning pieces. “You’ll have the bow, lace,